Decatizing apparatus



April 29, 1969 REBEL ,ET AL 3,440,841

Filed Oct. 1 1965 April 29, 1969 H. menu ET AL 3, 4

DECATIZING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 1, 1965 Sheet 2 of 2 IN V EN TOR. zfi m-jni P/wa 0/4 +10 124. dd

MW a? United States Patent 3,440,841 DECATIZING APPARATUS Herbert Riedel and Dieter Riedel, Minden, Westphalia, Germany, assignors to Drabert Sohne, Westphalia, Germany, a German partnership Filed Oct. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 491,936 Claims priority, application Germany, Jan. 15, 1965,

258 Int. Cl. D06f 71/34, 397/00; D06m 13/00 U.S. Cl. 68-7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to apparatus for decatizing woven fabrics.

The decatizing process in a hermetically-sealed vessel imparts a permanent gloss to a fabric, which even when ironed is not harmed and repels water.

Previously suggested decatizing methods take a considerable time, because the material to be glazed first has to be rolled up by a winding machine, along with a satin runner or the like, on a perforated glazing cylinder and then, the roll having been formed, introduced horizontally into a decatizing vessel.

On completion of the decatizing sequence, the decatizing cylinder, with the material rolled around it, has to be removed from the vessel and placed in the winding machine again, an extractor being in communication with it. After this extraction, the textile material is cooled and the decatizing effect is stabilized and fixed.

On completion of cooling, the material is unwound and laid out to dry.

As the rolling and unrolling of the material and the simultaneous rolling and unrolling of the runner take place on the same machine, there is some idle time in the sequence of operations, so that the hourly capacity is correspondingly low. Since the decatizing vessel cannot provide continuous working, it is this which sets the working rate for the plant as a whole.

The time involved in a complete decatizing sequence thus includes the following time periods:

t -the time taken for loading a cylinder into the vessel;

t -the time for closing the cover of the vessel;

t the time for admitting steam to the vessel;

t the time for expelling the air from the vessel;

t the time for expelling the air from the roll of material;

t the decatizing time proper, consisting of the times for steaming inwardly from the outside and outwardly from the inside;

t7th time required for the vessel pressure to fall;

t -the time for opening the cover of the vessel; and

t the time taken to remove the roll of material from inside the vessel.

Times t +t +t +t +t +t +t in this sequence of operations, must be regarded as idle time, whereas times t +t are absolute, productive working times.

The length of time t for expelling the air from the roll of material, depends on the density and hence on the structure of cloth and runner.

The glazing time proper, t is determined by a timer, which can be pre-set.

3,440,841 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 ICC It might be thought that several rolls of material could be put into the decatizing vessel simultaneously to increase the output. In this way, for one and the same period t the amount of material processed would be multiplied and the idle times t +t +f +t +l7+l +T would be distributed over a larger capacity.

To bring this about, several rolls of material might be placed above the centre of the vessel and connected to the perforated cylinders of the rolls of material, by a system of pipes, to a main pipe lying centrally in the vessel.

By means of this central pipe, the steam or water would then be admitted or removed centrally, inwardly from the outside or outwardly from the inside.

This method defeats itself, however, in that, in the first place, each roll of material sets up an unequal resistance to the entry of the steam or water. Even assuming all the rolls of material to be of the same quality, the rolls would set up dilferent degrees of resistance to entry of the processing media, because the nature of surface hardness and density of the runner rolled up with the material play a decisive part. Moreover, the tension maintained during winding affects the hardness of the roll of material and, hence, its resistance to pressure.

If, then, for example, steam is passed through several rolls of material, the varying degrees of resistance will also result in varying times of penetration.

Owing to these differing times of penetration, static back pressures are exerted'on whichever rolls of material have not yet been penetrated by the steam at any particular moment.

These back pressures prevent the air in the roll of material from being completely expelled, the disadvantage of which is that the glazing is uneven and faulty.

It is an object of the invention to eliminate completely or at least mitigate the drawbacks of this previously proposed apparatus.

Various embodiments of apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross-section through one embodiment of a vessel in accordance with the invention, a plurality of rolls of material being accommodated above the centre of the vessel;

FIGURE 1a is a vertical cross-section through a second embodiment of a vessel in accordance with the invention, a plurality of rolls of material being accommodated below the centre of the vessel;

FIGURE 1b is a vertical cross-section through a third embodiment of a vessel in accordance with the invention, a plurality of rolls of material being accommodated above and below the centre of the vessel;

FIGURE 2 is a section along the line A-B of FIG- URE 1; and

FIGURE 2a is a horizontal section through the vessel shown in FIGURE 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a star-shaped roll holder, round the periphery of which several perforated glazing cylinders 2, 2a and 2b are mounted in bearings and are wrapped, when in use, in rolls of material 3, 3a and 3b, together with a woven runner (not shown).

After a cover 12 (FIGURE 2) of the vessel has been opened, the roll holder 1 can be loaded into the decatizing vessel 5 with the aid of slides 4, 4a or 41) (FIG- URES 1, 1a, 1b and 2).

After the cover 12 has been closed, the various rolls of material 3, 3a and 3b are pressed axially against steam or water supply connections 6, 6a and 6b to form a seal.

This pressure on the individual rolls of material 3, 3a and 3b, is applied by thrust devices 7, 7a and 7b, operated by a fluid under pressure, from outside the cover 12.

The rolls of material 3, 3a and 3b, mounted in bearings 8 (not shown) at the periphery of the roll holder 1, have axial motion within these bearings.

The interior of the end 9 of the vessel is so designed that for each glazing cylinder 2, 2a and 2b, a corresponding pipe connection 6, 6a or 6b is provided, leading out from the interior of the vessel to a stop-valve 10.

Within the steam paths from the connections 6, 6a and 6b to the stop-cocks 10, 10a and 10b are fitted elements 11, 11a and 11b, which are sensitive to heat and moisture. These monitor the progress of the air expulsion from rolls of material 3, 3a and 3b and, when the saturated-steam condition is reached, emit appropriate impulses, causing the stop-valve 10 of the particular glazing cylinder 2, 2a or 211 to be closed automatically.

As will be seen from the drawings a plurality of rolls of material for glazing can be placed simultaneously in the decatizing vessel and these rolls can be arranged above and/or below the centre of the vessel and can communicate with pipes by which steam or water can be passed through the rolls independently of one another.

In operation, when the cover of the vessel has been closed, the individual rolls of material are pressed axially against the steam or water supply connections 6, 6a, 6b to eifect a seal. This pressure is applied to the individual rolls of material by the electro-mechanically or electrohydraulically operated devices 7, 7a, 7b from outside the cover, the rolls of material being permitted axial motion in their supporting bearings 8.

To ensure complete expulsion of the air from all the rolls of material, each heat and moisture-sensitive element 11, 11a, 11b emits suitable impulses as soon as the saturated-steam condition is reached in the respective pipe 6, 6a, 6b, and thus automatically closes its respective pipe.

Both measurement values must be matched to each other, because just before the expulsion of the air is complete, the mixture of air and steam emerging from the cylinder may assume the temperature of saturated steam.

However, the moisture-sensitive element may not then have reached its proper value, because the last of the mixture of air and steam emerging is considerably drier than corresponds to the true saturated-steam condition.

Not until both of the pre-determined values have been reached, namely saturated-steam temperature and saturated-steam humidity, may the outlet valve be closed, with the certainty that all the air has been expelled from the roll of material by the steam admitted.

We claim:

1. In a decatizing apparatus,

a decatizing vessel,

a plurality of perforated hollow cylinders for carrying rolls of cloth to be decatized,

mounting means arranged to support the hollow cylinders and movable into and out of the vessel, separate decatizing-medium carrying duct means for each cylinder which are arranged to communicate with the interior of the corresponding cylinder when the mounting means is loaded in the vessel, and a hydraulically-operated device operable on each cylinder for biassing the cylinders into sealing contact and communicating relationship with the respective duct means.

2. In a decatizing apparatus,

a decatizing vessel,

a plurality of hollow perforated elongate means for carrying rolls of woven fabric to be decatized, mounting means arranged to support the hollow perforated means,

bearing means supported by the mounting means which carry the hollow perforated means and permit longitudinal movement thereof relatively to the mountmg means,

an independent decatizing-medium extraction duct for each hollow perforated means, each said extraction duct having an end portion extending into the decatizing vessel, and

a hydraulically-operated device operable on each hollow perforated means to bias it into sealing engagement with the respective end portion whereby communication is established between the interior of the hollow perforated means and the corresponding extraction duct.

3. Decatizing apparatus comprising,

a cylindrical vessel including a closed end wall and an openable end wall,

a plurality of hollow perforated cylinders for carrying rolls of cloth to be decatized,

mounting means arranged to support the hollow cylinders and including two spider members,

a number of arms on each spider member corresponding to the number of cylinders,

bearing means on each arm for carrying one end of one of the cylinders, and

rollers to enable movement of the mounting means into and out of the vessel,

guide members secured within the vessel arranged to cooperate with the rollers of the mounting means,

a plurality of pipes corresponding in number to the number of cylinders for the passage of decatizing medium,

an end portion of each pipe extending through the closed end of the vessel each pipe end being open and aligned with the corresponding cylinders when the mounting means is loaded in the vessel,

biasing means mounted on the openable end wall of the vessel operable to bias each cylinder into engagement with the corresponding duct end portion when the openable end wall is closed and the cylinders are loaded in the vessel,

a valve in each duct,

an element sensitive to heat and moisture for each duct for monitoring the conditions of the decatizing medium in that duct, and

means responsive to the said elements for controlling the valve of each duct.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising control means for controlling the flow of medium in each extraction duct means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, including a valve in each said duct,

an element sensitive to heat and moisture for each duct for monitoring the conditions of the decatizing medium in that duct, and

means responsive to the said elements for controlling the valve of each duct.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,872,802 2/1959 Bellmann 68210 X FOREIGN PATENTS 269 1876 Great Britain. 542,446 1/1942 Great Britain.

WILLIAM J. PRICE, Primary Examiner. 

